ASK IRA: Is it time for James 2.0 and a Heat play for Bronny?

Q: Wouldn’t the Heat be wise to draft Bronny James in the second round? Then LeBron could opt out of the Lakers and play small forward for the Heat to play with his son. Jimmy Butler could move back to shooting guard. The Heat would be instant title contenders.  – Nathan, Fort Lauderdale.

A: Well, it seems you have all that figured out. Except for the facts that . . . 1. Bronny James could go ahead of the Heat’s pick at No. 43. 2. The Heat are in no position to burn their No. 15 pick on a player who doesn’t rank within the draft’s Top 50 prospects. 3. The notion of LeBron James opting into free agency to play with his son no longer is viewed as any type of given. 4. If LeBron truly wants to be around his son, and if Bronny needs to spend time in the G League, for the Heat that would be in Sioux Falls, S.D., and not, say, at the Lakers’ practice facility, as is the case with the Lakers’ G League affiliate. 5. After all that transpired in 2014, could the Heat even consider utilizing a value draft pick on a recruiting gambit involving LeBron? Then again, perhaps you bring back Shabazz Napier, Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger, draft Bronny, and pretend July 2014 never happened.

Q: Ira, do you think the Heat front office needs to stop looking for undrafted “diamonds in the rough” whose primary strength is defense, and start looking for a potential bona-fide scorer? – Aviv, Miami.

A: You can make an argument that the Heat have a very such prospect already within their sphere, in 2023-24 two-way player Alondes Williams, who put together some dominant scoring performances for their G League affiliate this past season. Then again, Erik Spoelstra also has mentioned how Alondes needs to become more of a complementary component for the Heat if he is to remain within the team’s realm. So, in the end, defense seemingly always will factor into such decisions.

Q: Ira, nice to see Erik Spoelstra at Inter Miami. Sports communities need to work together. I wonder which Heat players will bang the drum before the Panthers games. – Steve.

A: Well, if any do, they’ll have to put in extra work to top what Goran Dragic already has done in that drum-banging regard this season. But I’m not sure those from the Heat showing up at other South Florida sports venues are doing anything more than being the sports fans they actually are. There have not been many events in the area that have not attracted Jimmy Butler. And throughout his career, Udonis Haslem made a point of immersing himself in the South Florida sports community. When you talk to many of the players, they go because they truly enjoy the competitive aspects, even as fans.